


Give Me Something to Sing About

by rosemtylr



Series: Give Me Something to Sing About [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Past Abuse, don't worry there will be no pain, everyone is a little gay, james and lily DEFINITELY aren't hooking up, light and fluffy and funny, or a lot gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7739014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosemtylr/pseuds/rosemtylr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Marauders and The Pixies are big in the London indie scene, but their carefully crafted stage personas are much more put together than their respective members. Lily and James like to pretend they aren't in love. Emmeline likes to pretend she's not in love with Marlene. Marlene and Peter don't try to pretend that they like each other. Alice and Frank are just trying to enjoy their new life in the suburbs without fielding eight phone calls a day from the ex-bandmates, and Remus Lupin is caught in the crossfire, not to mention perpetually distracted by a constantly shirtless Sirius Black. </p>
<p>Dorcas and Mary are completely done with the lot of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Swinging Party (Kindness)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm trash for some modern marauders' era. enjoy.

The wedding of Frank Longbottom and Alice Fortescue was practically magic. Freshly twenty and barely victimized by the struggles of the real world, their wedding albums held all the proof necessary in testimony of the utter beauty of the day and the people they shared it with. A ceremony on a Scottish cliffside, a reception under a blanket of stars and twinkling lights; the prints painted a perfect day full of love and wonder.

Not pictured in the leatherbound pages, however, were the three progressively raunchy and drunken speeches by the best men, the flask stashed in Alice’s garter by bridesmaid number three, Marlene McKinnon, or the dark corner where James Potter and maid of honour Lily Evans had been (quote unquote) _secretly_ snogging half the night. It also did not detail the strife of Frank’s bandmates when he had announced three months prior that he was leaving London for _Surrey_ of all places, selling out and buying a starter home in the suburbs for his hypothetical family.

“You’ve killed the dream,” James had replied flatly after a few moments of dumbfounded silence. Peter was still staring at him warily, expression confused halfway between a grimace and a grin as though he was trying to figure out what the joke was and when the punchline would be delivered. Sirius had promptly left the room as soon as he’d stopped speaking. “Up and murdered it, Franklin.”

Frank couldn’t help but roll his eyes, a hint of affection warming the fleeting dark expression they had held. His name was decidedly _not_ Franklin, except for in the world of _The Marauders_ , which meant this temporary rage and dramatics would be just that. Temporary.

“MURDERED IT, FRANKLIN,” Sirius called from somewhere near either the loo or the kitchen of his and James’ rather spacious flat, voice cracking theatrically towards the end.

At the same time, a similar scene had played out several blocks downtown, in a slightly more rundown and less posh area of London where Alice shared a three bedroom flat with two of her own best mates (and members of the band she begrudgingly half managed, half mothered). All the members of The Pixies (plus Emmeline, though she was always honorarily counted) were present when she nervously broke the news of her engagement and potential relinquishment of administrative duties. The beat of silence before sighs of relief and exclamations of excitement filled the cramped living room was pure torture for the blonde, who accepted several hugs at once.

“Honestly, I thought something was _wrong_ the way you went about this,” Lily scolded, her voice muffled in Alice’s hair. “Engaged! I always _knew_ I liked Frank best of the lot.”

(As had been customary since the fourth day of year ten, the women present pointedly did not bring up James Potter as a means of contesting this statement).

Halfway across the globe in Vancouver, Remus Lupin was in his apartment with his rather serious boyfriend watching _Friends_ on Netflix before bed, nudging the other man every so often when he appeared to doze off at what Remus would insist were the best parts. In between episodes while scrolling through his Facebook feed, he saw the announcement of the engagement of one of his friends from primary school and absentmindedly liked it before dropping his phone back onto the bed as the next episode began. Blissfully unaware that, like his schoolmates living their lives in England, the next three months would bring more uncomfortable and important changes than he was able to foresee.

Those three months passed in a flurry of tulle, cake tastings, alcohol soaked nights of freedom and heartache unseen by the London music scene. Frank and Alice transcended their level of ‘Frank and Alice’ (something their friends had thought impossible), went off on their honeymoon, and very suddenly both bands realized they were down a bassist and roommate, respectively. As the Longbottoms boarded their flight to the Maldives, Remus Lupin touched back down at Heathrow, home for the first time since secondary school with a black eye and a fresh bout of abandonment issues, the only local number still saved to his brick of a cellphone belonging to one Lily Evans, the best friend he’d managed to not totally lose touch with over the course of moving continents and graduating school.

So he dialled her number.

After several moments of awkwardness on his end and amiability on hers, he found himself with an address and no promises, except that of a potential room to rent. The inn he had checked himself into to stash the few suitcases of belongings that had made the trip across the ocean with him was very small and rather musty, with tight staircases and dark corners. Behind the desk, a very small and rather musty man with bottle-cap thick lenses watched him go with an odd combination of joviality and suspicion. Self consciously, Remus’ hand scrubbed over his jawline, fingertips ghosting over the smattering of thin, white scars the tracked across his cheeks before the humid London air distracted him. For all it’s peculiarities, the inn had at least been air conditioned.

Not quite as used to the tube system as he’d hoped he would be, it took him the better part of half an hour to direct himself to the hastily scrawled address on the back of his hand. When he finally stood in front of the brick building, he allowed himself to feel nervous. It was not an emotion he was comfortable or familiar with; he fancied himself indomitable after his particular brand of childhood and post-adolescent suffering for his art. The ivy fronted beast of an apartment complex, however, made him feel remarkably small and alone- another feeling he had been running from since he walked into his bedroom in his flat – his _old_ flat – and had found himself face to face with both his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s yoga instructor, neither of whom were facing each other.

Downward dog style.

His allotted moment of weakness and fear had passed, so with steady hands he pressed the button to buzz up to apartment 4-B, as per Lily’s instructions.

“Yeah?”

The voice on the other side of the tinny speaker was distinctly female, but through the distortion Remus couldn’t be certain it was the female he was hoping for- Lily had mentioned roommates, and he had no interest in scaring them off the first time they met

“Uh, hi. Lily...?”

“Remus!”

With a quiet click the line went dead and the buzzer sounded, prompting the slightly frazzled Remus to grapple with the door, getting it open on his second awkward attempt. The first thing he noticed upon entering the slightly dingy lobby was the lack of elevators. Four flights of stairs were hardly a challenge, but he found himself slightly out of breath nonetheless. A double edged sword; on the one hand, his cardio would improve vastly once – if he moved in. On the other, stairs.

When he finally rapped on apartment 4-B’s purple door, it swung open to reveal the familiar redhead he’d missed since moving overseas, still standing tall at five feet even with a field hockey stick slung over her shoulder in a truly frightening and aggressive power move. When recognition flashed across her features, the makeshift weapon was abandoned and replaced by an equally disarming and bright grin, quickly followed by a high-pitched keening noise and a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. Despite her slight size, Remus stumbled backwards a step before returning the embrace with an equal amount of vigour, laughing along with Lily. He had been worried things would be stilted and awkward between them, though he couldn’t remember why now. It was _Lily –_ kind, charming, comfortable Lily.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” Lily gushed, pulling him through the threshold into the apartment, gently closing the door and replacing the field hockey stick to where he assumed was it’s designated spot next to the shoe rack. “It’s been – six years? Six years! We were just fourteen the last time I saw you,” she added in mock accusation, cuffing his arm as she led him through the plant infested living room to the island that separated it from the kitchen, where a woman in a headwrap was stirring a cup of tea and fixatedly scrolling through what he assumed was social media of some sort on a laptop. Smiling at her politely, Remus couldn’t help but feel intimidated when she barely spared him a glance.

“I don’t live here,” she intoned frankly, lifting her eyes to fix him with a half suspicious, half appraising look.

“Don’t be rude,” Lily chastised, boiling a kettle and setting mugs out for herself, Remus and an unseen third person. “ – and don’t mind her. She’s been out of sorts since Alice left.”

“I certainly _haven’t_!”

“Anyway.” Pouring the hot water into the teapot, Lily once again rounded on Remus with an inviting smile. “ You can sit, make yourself at home. We’d be _so_ pleased to have you come room with us, I was mostly teasing over the phone when I told you I couldn’t promise anything. We’ve not even put out an ad yet- Alice and Frank are on their honeymoon now, and half her things are still hiding around the flat,” she explained, Remus nodding along as he tried to keep up with her, amused and endeared by her constant stream of activity.

“Who is we? If we doesn’t include…” He trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards the dark skinned girl still typing away, unconcerned by the conversation taking place directly next to her.

“Dorcas,” Lily supplied helpfully. “We is me and Marlene. Marlene usually wakes up around noon- earlier if her boy toy wakes up first and tries to get her to go to breakfast. Marlene is not a breakfast person.”

As though on cue, one of the doors in the hall perpendicular to the kitchen swung open and a very shirtless, very tan man strode out confidently, lacing a pair of black leather pants and winking cheekily at Dorcas before loudly pressing a kiss to Lily’s temple. If he wasn’t so distracted by the impressive set of abs and trail of dark hair disappearing under the nameless man’s waistband, Remus would have had a dry joke about Marlene and gender norms to share with the small group.

“Good morning, Sirius,” Lily sighed, affectionate and long-suffering. As she handed him the third mug, tea poured, the man – Sirius – opened the cupboard above her head, retrieving a box of Lucky Charms triumphantly.

“Good morning, _mum_. Trying to hide the good cereal from me again?” Upon noticing Remus, he paused, fixing the taller man with the same disconcerting stare Dorcas had employed minutes earlier. “And a very good morning to you, strange and handsome man in Lily’s flat. Honestly Lils, are you _trying_ to destroy Prongs completely? At least shag someone shorter than him- it’s not as though there aren’t a thousand eligible prats under six feet who’d die to take you to bed.”

The kind smile Remus had grown so accustomed to was replaced by red cheeks and a firmly set jaw.

“Sirius, this is my friend Remus. Who we’re trying to convince to rent out our third room. You absolute wanker,” she added in a hiss, snatching the jug of milk from his hands, cutting off his protest with a sharp “You can eat them _dry_.”

“Yes, Remus Lupin, a pleasure to meet you,” Remus supplied politely, finally gathering himself and offering his hand. Sirius shook it, staring him full in the face before gesturing to it. For a terrible moment, Remus was sure he was going to mention the scars.

“D’you get in a fight, mate?”

Oh. That was much worse.

“I suppose you could call it that,” he replied evenly, surprised at how calm he sounded. By the grace of whatever god occasionally took pity on him, the elusive Marlene chose that moment to make her entrance, clad in a ridiculously luxurious pink robe that flowed as she stalked towards the kitchen, a black piece of fabric in one hand. It made an actual sound when it collided with Sirius’ face before sliding into his Lucky Charms.

“Lily, James Potter has _negged_ _you_ in a song!”

“That’s my cue to leave,” Sirius stage whispered to Remus, tugging the shirt on and taking his bowl of cereal and cuppa with him as he rose to leave. “It was good to meet you, mate. Lily’ll give you my number if you ask, me and the boys are going to the pubs this weekend if you’d like to join.”

None of the women paid Sirius any mind as he exited with their bowl and mug. They were all crowded around Dorcas’ laptop, listening with varying expressions of bemusement (Dorcas), elation (Marlene), and mortified fury (Lily).

“ ‘ _You’re too pure and lily white for a wild thing like me_ ’ ?? That’s not even clever! Or ambiguous!” Lily fumed, glancing over at Remus self consciously and apologetically. This was not how she had imagined this fake interview would go down, nor did it resemble what she had dared to hope it would be like. That had all gone to shit the second Sirius came out of the left-field and stole her expensive breakfast food.

“Not that you care though, right Lils?” Dorcas asked innocently, prompting a snicker from Marlene who had settled onto a stool as though it were a throne. Lily’s cheeks flamed again.

“Not even a little bit,” Lily sniped back, pouring more tea into her mug and stirring it aggressively. “Potter is an absolute prat. _Negging me_. As though he isn’t a desperate mess around me in real life!” Gently, Remus removed the spoon from her wildly gesticulating hand, wiping at a few drops of tea on his pant leg.

“Welcome to our life!” Marlene chirped brightly to him, sparking a spliff that she’d seemingly pulled out of thin air. Dorcas groaned at the same time Lily did, shooing Marlene onto the balcony before finally sitting, directly across from Remus. She took a moment to correct her posture, which Remus knew meant she was mentally collecting herself as well.

“Rent is two hundred seventy pounds a month apiece, everything in. Your bedroom is the second biggest in the flat, and there’s only one bathroom but it’s been enough for three of us getting ready in the mornings, and I know the location isn’t the best you could hope for, but for the price, and in London-”

“-Lily,” Remus interrupted, reaching across the island to take her hand comfortingly and put an end to her suffering. “It’s fantastic. When can I move my things in?”


	2. This Must Be The Place ( The Lumineers )

Lily Evans did not like James Potter.

She did not like his arrogance, how he strode into any room as easily as if it was his own bedroom, all legs and arms and a toothy grin. She did not like his performances; they were never nuanced, always so in your face, full of pointing and rolling on the stage and yelling her name in between verses. She did not like when he leaned over the stage, his sweaty forehead almost pressed to hers, and sang to her like she was the only audience he had, ignoring the dozens or hundreds of other people screaming his lyrics at the top of their lungs. She did not like how stifling his body heat was, even with all the windows open and only a sheet covering their spooning bodies, the (eleventh) one time they’d gotten into two too many bottles of wine and wound up naked in her bed the next morning. When she had tried to roll out of bed he let out an unholy moan and tightened his far too muscular arms around her waist, sleeping the whole while, forcing her to remain in the same position for another half hour. She disliked him so much, she added an extra spoonful of sugar to his tea when he specifically asked for one that morning.

So it wasn’t an unreasonable stretch to guess she didn’t like the fact her roommate of a week was going to be auditioning for his band.

It wasn’t as though she was about to shoot down Remus – excited, smiling Remus, flyer in hand and bass guitar already strapped to his back at half eight – when he’d politely and hopefully asked for a ride to the venue the three band members had rented out to hold auditions at. She had not yet prodded him for any information about the faded bruise surrounding his left eye, but the halting way he smiled hinted that he was out of practice. Lily wasn’t about to take away one of his reasons to smile, so with a half sinking, half giddy sensation in her stomach, she’d pulled on her jean jacket over her pajamas, which really only consisted of an oversized Fleetwood Mac tour t-shirt, and set out to load the man and his instrument into her bright orange camper van. It was only Remus’ quiet cough that reminded her she was barefoot.

God, she needed coffee.

“I can’t believe they’re starting auditions this early,” she remarked conversationally to Remus as she donned her sunglasses and started the trusty Volkswagen. “I don’t think I’ve seen Sirius out of bed before noon in the entire time I’ve known him. He failed Latin three times in sixth year because our class slot was at nine am.” Remus choked a little on his water.

“This is Sirius’ band?” he spluttered out between coughs, warranting a concerned glance from Lily before her eyes were resolutely back on the road. “Well, yes. The Marauders, and it’s truly more James Potter’s band- and by band I mean reason to live. They’re our mates, technically. I don’t think we can get rid of them at this point, now that the marriage is legal and binding and such.” The utter confusion clouding his features at her statement pulled a snort of laughter from the redhead.

“Right, so their old bassist, Frank, just married our old manager, Alice.”

“You’re in a band?” This prompted a look of utter confusion on Lily’s part.

“Well, yes. Why’d you think there were so many instruments laying about, and Dorcas?” 

“Honestly?” His hands ran through his hair nervously as he tried to think of an inoffensive, funny way to word his answer. “I thought… She was your girlfriend?”

Peals of laughter mingled with the old school Lana Del Rey that she’d somehow managed to put on between stop signs. “Christ, no. Dorcas is strictly straight, unfortunately, though I did have a crush on her when I first met her. I did date Alice for a bit, before Frank and all that. She’s lovely- you’re going to love her once they come home from the Maldives,” she chirped easily. To Remus, her attitude was bizarre.

“And you kept her on as your manager after you’d broken up?”

“Well, yes. She was my mate first, before she was my girlfriend. Besides, we didn’t love love each other like that, and she was besotted with Frank the moment he spilled his drink on her. I was their maid of honour.”

It was Remus’ turn to laugh. It was refreshing to hear someone he still considered himself close to talk about relationships in such a casual and positive way. For him, romance had been life and death and war and hate, all passion and fire and despair. If love didn’t hurt, he had never been sure it had been love, and here was Lily, with plaits in her hair, dimples in her cheeks and heart shaped sunglasses, talking about her ex and the role she’d played in her wedding.

As they rolled up towards the location dinging on her map app, Remus caught his first sight of the two Marauders he’d never seen. They were a study in polar opposites; one at least six feet tall with dark skin, long, kinky hair, and biceps Remus couldn’t help but admire. He was leaning against the side of the brickfaced building, in a white t-shirt his sunglasses making him look effortlessly cool. The other was short and wide, with small eyes, blonde hair to his chin and an attempt at a goatee on his face. Remus was pretty sure he spotted a glint of metal on his brow, which was surprising given his otherwise mousy exterior.

“Oi, Evans! Alright?” The taller of the two drawled, attempting to be casual as he leaned through Remus’ open window but failing miserably. Lily looked utterly unimpressed, though the dark sunglasses probably helped.

“Nice glasses.”

Upon closer inspection, Remus realized they were transition shades; the boy’s brown eyes were now visibly bright, and this discovery combined with his attempt at a smoulder and the put on voice made Remus rethink his first ‘effortlessly cool’ impression.

“Thank you,” James seemed surprised, but unwilling to drop the lothario act he currently had on, instead leaning even further into the van to lower his voice another octave in a stage whisper. “They’re multi-functional.”

Lily rather reminded Remus of the wife from the painting of the old couple with the pitchfork.

“Right. Did you let Sirius make the reservation again, Potter?” With a small, throaty sound of discontent, James fell back on his heels, forehead resting on his crossed arms. Remus was a little relieved to have some space once more, even if James’ hair was now draped against his arm.

“He promised he’d be here this time- even set an alarm on his phone right in front of me, but then he didn’t come home last night. He wasn’t round yours, was he?”

“Oh yes, but I kicked him out of my bed before I dropped Remus off. He always tries to steal my good cereal after a romp. I just tire him out, I suppose,” Lily shot back blithely, her deadpan expression morphing into a grin as James’ head shot up and devolved into confusion shot through with horror. “Remus, this is James Potter, he tries to run this band.”

“I’m an excellent manager, don’t let her convince you otherwise,” James interjected quickly, attention diverted to Remus. His smile was immediate, bright and infectious, and Remus was struck suddenly with how similar he was to Lily. When he offered his hand, Remus shook it pleasantly. “So, you play the bass? Y’any good?”

“Of course he’s good. And what, you’re going to have him audition for you on the sidewalk?” Lily demanded, sunglasses sliding down the bridge of her nose so her green eyes could pierce through James. James shrugged. “Well, they won’t let us in without Sirius!”

Remus felt as though this was not a conversation he was meant to be included in, despite being physically stuck in the middle of. It felt like he was a child again, when his parents would host an argument at the dinner table as he sat idly by, picking at his peas. As the two squabbled, he waved to the blonde man who was standing silently next to James, and he smiled nervously back before shrugging and rolling his eyes. This was obviously not the first time he had been an audience to the two battling parties.

“Right, get in then!” Lily declared suddenly, leaning forward to look at and include Peter in the order. “You’ll just have to come back round ours.”

“But our place is bigger.”

“Yes, but I can’t very well kick you out of your own place if you become too insufferable,” Lily retorted, reaching across the back of Remus’ seat to open the sliding door behind him. “So get in. You too Peter.” James complied immediately.

“Well, that’s one way to get me back round yours, isn’t it? No Moscato necessary this time,” he added lowly, his grin widening as he wrapped his arms around her headrest, chin propped on top of it. Lily scoffed and turned the music up in response, Frank Ocean playing a touch too loudly for Remus to construe it as casual. He caught Peter’s eye in the rearview mirror, and barely stifled a chuckle at the long-suffering expression on his face.

The van had barely pulled to a halting stop when Lily hopped out of it, and James nearly strangled himself with his seatbelt trying to get out equally as quickly. This time Remus actually chuckled, twisting around in his seat to face Peter. “Are they always like that?” The blonde actually laughed, a mousy giggle Remus hadn’t been expecting from the large boy.

“Constantly. They’re usually worse, honestly. Like to pretend they aren’t shagging every time they pretend they’re drunk. At least, Lily is,” he added, his voice another surprise as he helped Remus unload his bass from the boot. “It’s been going on since we were fifteen- for James since we were twelve; he met her at sleepaway camp.”

“Really? She never mentioned him.”

“Apparently it was right hellish,” Peter admitted, giggling. “Something to do with a horse and a lake and a pair of knickers. Lily pretended she didn’t even know him once she showed up to our school in fifth year. Ballsy move, considering she didn’t know a soul.”

Yes, that sounded rather like the Lily Remus remembered.

By the time he and Peter had finally reached 4-B, Lily had a kettle boiling and was chatting animatedly with Marlene and a girl Remus hadn’t yet met, who was promptly introduced to him as Emmeline. Remus was struck with how large her dark brown eyes were, and how they contributed to her overall resemblance to a deer. Spare a quick ‘alright?’, her attention was quickly diverted back to the other two girls. Namely, Remus noticed, Marlene, who she was watching with total rapture, clinging to every word out of the blonde woman’s mouth as though she had been the one hang the stars and moon in the sky. With a pang, Remus remembered Sirius leaving Marlene’s room the day he’d first arrived (nearly two weeks ago, he realized) and felt his heart break a little for Emmeline. He’d been in love with a straight boy himself, once. 

Marlene herself had fixed Peter with a sour expression and sniffed in annoyance at his presence, surprising Remus, who she’d been nothing but welcoming and lovely to. Peter was regarding her with a similarly horrid grimace.

“You’ll meet Mary later, I expect. She’ll probably be at the party – which you lot had better come to, yeah!” James added, though his smile was flashed directly at Lily. He seemed, Remus noted, oblivious to the tension between Marlene and Peter, or at least ignoring it. “You’re invited as well, Remus. Meet the rest of the lads, and Sirius! He’s in the band too. He can be a bit of a prat but he’s also the best person I’ve ever met, so-”

“Wait, so does that mean I’m in?” Remus demanded, dumbstruck and distracted from the tension between the two blondes in the room. James shrugged, grin still present.

“Yeah, why not? It’s not like you’d audition if you thought you were rubbish, and Evans vouched for your talent earlier. Since she’s the most talented woman to grace this earth, and an honest broad on top of that whose word I’d die for, I’m assuming you’re more than decent.”

He said it so casually, fingers toying with the pompom fringe of one of the throw pillows, that Remus decided concretely he liked James Potter right there and there and would probably do anything for the charming man. A quick glance over James’ shoulder confirmed what Remus had suspected; Lily was stirring her cup of tea, pretending she wasn’t fighting a smile.

“Excellent! Thank you, so much,” he practically gushed, unsure whether it would be appropriate to hug James or if he should just shake his hand. After and awkward moment of limb flapping, he settled on clapping on hand on his shoulder. “I won’t disappoint, I promise. And I can write lyrics!” 

“Right, then we’d better be off- have to find Sirius and beat him up for screwing up auditions. It was a pleasure as always, Evans,” he called towards the kitchen, saluting Lily who raised a hand in acknowledgement, looking busy as she scribbled something in a notebook. 

“See you all tomorrow night, ten o’clock, we’re having a disco theme!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter kind of just serves as a catalyst for next chapter, when fun things start to happen (in my opinion at least). you can find me on tumblr at evahns.tumblr.com ! reviews and kudos validate me.


	3. Fresh Pair of Eyes (Brooke Waggoner)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been ten years so here's a 7k update

Lily woke up the next morning to the blinding light of her curtains being flung open and Marlene’s entire body hitting hers, pure dead weight that nearly knocked the wind out of her- the preferred wake-up method of her roommate. Dorcas, clad only in a pair of boxers she’d stolen from some boy or another and a brightly patterned headwrap from her extensive collection, was sipping a cup of tea and offering Lily’s own mug to her.

“I thought you didn’t live here,” the redhead wheezed as she accepted the cuppa from underneath Marlene, who had koala-wrapped herself around Lily’s torso. Dorcas just laughed, bouncing the other two girls as she plopped down onto the end of Lily’s bed without spilling a drop of earl grey.

“Thought you wouldn’t shag James Potter if your life depended on it,” Dorcas replied evenly, crossly her legs primly and pointedly. Lily’s eyes shot back down to the boxers, a seemingly innocuous flannel pair, then back up to Dorcas’ blank expression, fairly certain her bluff was being called. She scoffed.

“What, I can’t pull anyone other than a transition-shade wearing wanker?!” 

“His initials are written on the tag, unless you’ve managed to shag the only other bloke with the initials JQP in all of London.” 

So her bluff was not being called. Fantastic. Her only response was to nurse her tea, mollified. Marlene rolled off her with a spliff pulled seemingly from thin air, rattling around for a lighter in Lily’s bedside table.

“No no no – you know I’ve quit smoking and you know there’s no smoking in the apartment. Remus doesn’t smoke and I’m not having him spooked out of here by your nasty herbal habit,” she scolded, plucking the unlit joint from Marlene’s lips as the blonde rattled a half empty pack of Marlboros that she’d mananged to unearth, brows raised. 

That was, of course, the moment Remus popped his head through the casually open door, took in the sight of three women in various states of undress, eyes bugging as he desperately tried to look anywhere but at Dorcas’ shirtlessness.

“Sorry-sorry, the door was open and I just-Shit.“ Without finishing his thought, he immediately retreated, pivoting back a moment later to close the door behind him. The three women watched him go, with varying expressions of bemusement (Dorcas), elation (Marlene), and mortification (Lily). 

Swearing, Lily threw the blankets off and grabbed a t-shirt from off the floor, ignoring the snickers it drew from her supposed best friends when she turned to face them, The Marauders emblazoned across her midsection in the comically oversized shirt. “Right. Damage control time then. Dorcas, please put on a bloody shirt so Remus doesn’t strain himself trying to avoid eye contact with the girls. ”

Remus was recovering in the kitchen, feeling embarrassed for the second time that week, a fact that made him incredibly uncomfortable. Lily appeared, and before he could begin his rehearsed string of apologies, she put up one hand, shaking her head. 

“Tea? Dorcas has already put the kettle on; if you haven’t had a chance to go to the shops you can eat whatever of ours you deem edible. We aren’t big on labels, so everything is sort of communal, but if you buy something you want to yourself just write your name on it,” she explained nonchalantly. 

“Do you have any coffee?” Remus asked hopefully, a cursory glance around the kitchen providing no proof of a homebrewing station.

“We haven’t,” she replied apologetically, boosting herself onto the counter to reach the top shelf of the cupboard and the Lucky Charms. “We can definitely pick some up though. I think Alice left her coffee pot here; she and Frank have to have gotten a new one, so I can’t imagine she’ll be wanting it back.” Peering into the box, she swore. “Bloody Sirius, he picked the marshmallows out.”

“Sorry,” Marlene chimed, floating into the kitchen with Dorcas-now wearing a shirt that had obviously once belonged to a boy- behind her. When Lily spotted her, she laughed accusatorially, pointing at the button-down. 

“That was GIDEON PREWETT’S!” she cried, now standing on the counter as she replaced the sugary cereal for a much less appealing looking Special K variety. 

“Are you coming to the shops with us, Remus?” Dorcas asked, disarmingly casual as she sipped her tea like he hadn’t seen her tits all of five minutes ago. Swallowing his embarrassment, and confusion regarding who was or was not Gideon Prewett, he nodded. “Groceries?” 

Dorcas laughed. Marlene slid a mug of tea across the island to him. After a cursory sniff he swallowed his very un-british distaste and took a sip of the still hot liquid. As per usual, it was an underwhelming experience that left his body feeling more caffeine deprived than before- tea was only second to decaf in his bad books.

“Sure, if you need to. I just assumed you weren’t the sort to have a peacock suit or bellbottoms laying about,” she replied, glancing down at her phone on the island, beginning to tap away at it. For a second, Remus was pure confusion until the lightbulb flickered- “Oh, for the party.”

“We all need something,” Marlene added. Remus had begun to appreciate her casual inclusionary tendencies. “So you should definitely come with. We’ll make sure you look fit for all the new birds.” 

“Blokes,” he and Lily corrected her at the same time, grinning at one another as she poured an off-brand variety of soy milk into her cereal. Marlene cocked her head to the side, appraising him. He met her gaze, brows raised. Homophobia was not something he was used to anymore, nor was he used to people assuming he was straight after several years in his very small scene in Western Canada- and it wasn’t as though he could imagine Lily tolerating someone with something snippy to say about queerness, let alone live with them.

“Well, I suppose that explains your aversion to Dorcas’ tits.”

Remus choked on his tea.

.

The vintage shop they ended up in made Lily uncomfortable.

She already had a bodysuit she wanted to wear at home- silky, slinky and white (so she looked less pale). All she was looking for was a truly funky, disco-worthy jacket of some sort to wear over the plunging halter neckline and lack of back to make it less revealing for the general assembly of Marauder’s fans, who all seemed to regard her with an odd combination of reverence and disdain if their tweets were sincere.

Everything in the shop was at least twenty quid. She, Lily, goddess of charity shop treasures, was about to cry. All of this clothing had already been worn by other people, but because some twat had managed to find all of these pieces before her and label them curated she was staring down at a Pussy Riot shirt she’d gotten out of a 50p bin at Crusaid with a tag for thirty fucking quid.

So yes, the scholarship girl that Lily knew she would always be wanted to cry because there was no way she’d be able to buy anything remotely cool enough for the party she was planning on making her bitch while simultaneously making James Potter address his feelings for her as serious and mature, not just a joke he’d been performing for laughs since they were teenagers.

Not that she’d admit that, obviously.

Marlene made extra on the side thanks to a very successful career daylighting as a camgirl, Dorcas had family money, and Remus… Well, Remus looked about as comfortable as she did. Affectionately, she recalled primary school, how her lunch pail always had an extra sandwich in it in case his mom had been on a night shift and his dad had been on the road when the fridge was empty and it was time to catch the bus. 

Marlene noticed, as she always did, particularly when Lily blanched while trying on an amazing faux fur jacket in a very retro shade of orange.

“Oh, I was going to come back and get you that for your birthday!” The blonde complained loudly, hands clasped. “You look amazing. If you’re getting it let me get it for you as an early birthday present, I’m not going to find anything half as perfect anywhere.”

Lily did not believe her in the slightest, but she desperately wanted to. For some reason this jacket seemed absolutely integral to happiness as she stared at herself in the mirror- how it dwarfed her and made even the oversized shirt she was passing off as a dress look chic in a disheveled, careless way. This was Lily’s jacket. In a moment of uncharacteristic selfishness, Lily huffed a fake sigh.

“Well, if you insist,” she smarmed, a genuinely thankful smile undercutting the playfulness of the moment. At that moment Remus emerged from the fitting room he’d been banished to in a white one-piece that would have made Elvis proud, looking wildly unimpressed at the shrunken appearance of the hemlines on his long limbs. Dorcas began laughing immediately.

“Somehow I don’t think this would be the best outfit to wear to my inaugural London party,” he deadpanned, twisting into a position that provided a much better view of his ass in the mirror, drawing howls and whistles from the three women.

“Oh c’mon Remus, this way the boys’ll be able to tell exactly what you’re packing,” Dorcas teased, tossing a chartreuse ascot towards him as she rifled through the pile he’d been allocated. “I know for a fact you’ve got a pair of high waisted bootcut jeans somewhere in your bags, I’ve seen them on your instagram-”

“You’ve seen my instagram?”

“Besides the point.” Triumphantly, she presented him with a floral collared shirt. “Go put this on, we’ll find you a stick on moustache from a fancy dress or joke shop, and you’re good to go. Very easy.”

Remus, wearer of his father’s shearling denim jacket and flannels, was not about to argue with Dorcas, who was currently wearing what he assumed was lingerie with a pair of shorts, a man’s letterman jacket and two chokers. She reminded him of one of the girl’s photographed by blogs during fashion weeks. Obediently, he returned to his curtained-off corner, peeling off the peacock suit.

“In any case I’ve been planning on going to this do for two weeks, as I am not a part of Lily’s anti-Marauder-party pact, and have had an appropriate outfit for longer, so this is where I’ll leave you,” she announced, leaning down to kiss cheeks and grab her purse (vintage Gucci). 

“Marlene, don’t let Lily bail. And don’t let her wear a t-shirt as a dress, for Christ’s sake.”  
. 

The sounds of the party were apparent as Remus and the girls approached the boys’ apartment, muffled Donna Summer and frenetic laughter making the otherwise silent hallway crackle with a sort of magic that made Remus’ entire body tense with excitement. He hadn’t been to a proper party in years- just cheese and wine do’s that became painfully dull after about twenty minutes. With Lily on one arm and Marlene on the other he felt rather invincible, as they were easily two of the coolest girls he had ever met and both intimidated him to no end, and they seemed to love him for no apparent reason- just for who he was, as a person and friend.

Moving back home had been the best decisions he’d ever made.

“Do I look okay?”

Lily was looking rather less invincible, and Remus realized in his slightly giddy, slightly intoxicated state that her grip on his arm was leaving tiny half moons where her nails were biting into the freckled flesh. Both she and Marlene looked amazing, of course, but Lily had obviously begun to regret forgoing pants of any kind with the plunging, silky white bodysuit and orange faux fur coat combo. 

When no one answered, Lily made a small, anxious noise, fluffing her hair a final time as they reached apartment 78… Then walking slightly past it, leaning against the wall and looking very small for the first time since Remus had met her when they were children.

“Yeah, she really hates James Potter,” Marlene grumbled to Remus, clapping him on one shoulder as she brushed past him to tend to Lily. “Head on in, mate- you’re a Marauder now, that place is your kingdom. We’ll follow in a mo’.” 

With a start, Remus realized she was right- if anyone belonged at this party, he did. Opening the front door, he was hit with the full force of the music. Glancing over to the panicked Lily and placating Marlene, he stepped inside.

It was much grander than he’d been expecting- at least twice the size of the flat he shared with the girls, and that wasn’t exactly a shoebox. There appeared to be gilded crown moulding throughout the high-ceilinged, open concept living area, and the floors were definitely expensive- marble in the entry way turning to a dark hardwood in the area occupied by the party.

It was also much more crowded than he was expecting, no doubt half the reason Lily was on the verge of a panic attack, and Remus realized he had no idea who any of the people were until Dorcas’ familiar face popped into his field of vision, a grin spreading across her features as she waved to him. He reddened slightly, still embarrassed after their early morning run in, but returned the smile and headed her way.

“Lils in a bit of a strop?” Dorcas asked by way of greeting. He realized she had an arm around Emmeline, whose doe-like eyes were intensified by a thick coating of glittery eyeshadow and intensely dilated pupils. “Yeah, she’s taken MDMA like a complete idiot,” the taller woman explained, noticing Remus had been rendered slightly speechless by the other girl’s eyes. 

“Less of a strop, more of a slight panic. She’s not worn any pants with the bodysuit,” he explained. Dorcas nodded in approval. Before she could reply, Remus started as a pair of arms encircled his waist, lifting him off the ground slightly with a disembodied roar.

“REMUS! MATE! YOU CAME!” James’ grip did not waver as he managed to seamlessly go from lifting Remus to hugging him and Remus was once again struck by how quickly he had come to love James Potter, whose hug he returned jovially. “Honestly, the residents of 4B never come to these do’s, we were worried the hens might turn you against us!” James crowed, taking up residence under Remus’ arm, which he had slung over his shoulders. Dorcas and Emmeline looked amused, and several other guests seemed to have noticed the small spectacle the two very tall men were making of themselves.

“’Course I came, we’re mates now, and bandmates! Honestly I think I’ve turned them toward you, they’re on their way up!” Remus replied, feeling a little drunker by association based on how drunk James appeared to be. This statement, by contrast, seemed to sober James considerably, who stiffened and straightened, Remus’ arm sliding off his shoulders. “Wait- no they aren’t. They never come,” James reasoned slowly, one hand tugging through the afro he’d teased his hair into. “I can’t- Lily never comes.”

Sirius seemed to very quickly notice his best friend’s distress and strode over, pausing only to exchange a quick “Alright?” with Remus as James’ party mood devolved.

.

Outside, a similar situation was deescalating. For the fourth time, Lily was standing in front of the door, knob in hand before she pulled back. “Are the platforms too much?”

“No. You’re not even as tall as me in them,” Marlene shot back, done with the kind, empowering words she’d been spewing for the past ten minutes or so, adjusting the silver material of her dress that plunged to her navel to reveal the tip of one star shaped pasty. “Your legs look a mile long and your tits have never looked better or been more free. No one is going to recognize you, seeing as you’re not ironically wearing an oversized men’s shirt as a dress. James Potter is going to cum in whatever too-tight bellbottoms he’s managed to find tonight the instant he sees you.”

The tough love, as always, had the most effect on Lily’s comportment, and her posture straightened at Marlene’s words. Nodding and putting on her no-nonsense face, she twisted the doorknob, the door swinging open as Dr. Hook crooned about being in love with a beautiful woman over the speakers.

Sirius, James and Remus had attracted the attention of several girls Remus did not recognize, who seemed to be milling around organically, but based on the expression on Dorcas’ face when she caught Remus’ eye they were not friends. It had been a while since Remus had been a part of the music scene, even longer since people had assumed he was straight, but once it dawned on him that they were groupies, he was suddenly struck with a feeling of dread. 

He seemed to notice Lily and Marlene’s entrance at the same time as Sirius, who hissed “Snog one of them, now!” to a stricken looking James before turning to one of the girls who had slowly but steadily gathered around the panicking singer. “Fancy a snog with James Potter?” 

Before Remus could vocalize how terrible a plan that was, the girl was hanging from James neck. Emmeline choked on her drink, Dorcas punched Sirius in the bicep, and Remus made the mistake of looking over James’ shoulder and making eye contact with Lily, standing very still in the hallway, lips parted and a heartbreaking expression on her face. Remus recognized the expression- it was the one she had worn when Petunia had called her a freak on the playground when they were eleven. Remus also recognized this meant she was very close to tears. Shooting a furious expression at Sirius, he shoved past the shorter man to where Marlene had stepped in front of Lily who was, as he had predicted, fighting back tears.

“Bathroom,” Marlene ordered, motioning for Remus to put his arms around them before fake laughing very loudly. Following suit, Remus began laughing and pointedly leaned down to press a kiss to Lily’s forehead. Her half-moon grip on his forearm was vicelike, but she also managed to drum up a peal of laughter, which was enough to break James’ concentration on the blonde who continued to hang off him, his glasses askew and mouth stained with the woman’s lipstick. He saw legs, a shaggy orange coat with a wave of red hair above it, and Remus Lupin’s hand dangerously low on Lily’s back, their foreheads touching briefly before he straightened and disappeared from view through the kitchen.

“What the fuck just happened?” He demanded, voice an octave higher than normal as he fumbled with his glasses and mouth. 

“I just made you look like a stud instead of an obsessed prat. You’re welcome,” Sirius shot back, grinning wildly with one hand raised for a high five. Dazedly, James slapped at it, still not understanding what exactly had just happened.

“Was that Evans with Remus? Like with him?” Sirius shrugged.

“So? You need to get over that bird, mate- as much as I love her,” he added, turning briefly to Dorcas and Emmeline, who had both begun to voice disapproval, “- she’s not going to be your girlfriend. She’s not. Right now you’re an easy pull for her, and you’ve made yourself an easy pull, and you’re going to stay an easy pull. So get over it and get into someone new before you’re thirty and still her booty call, you serial monogamist.”

“Oh fuck mate,” James groaned, his face in his hands, “I have to find Evans.”

“And do what, exactly?” Sirius demanded, pulling James’ hands away and forcing the drunk man to maintain eye contact. “What the fuck are you going to do? Make a prat of yourself.” Without force, he tossed James’ hands back at him, the taller boy looking properly chastised and confused. Sirius turned to the blonde.  
“Sorry he’s such a prat…”

“Rita,” the girl supplied easily, with a shake of what Emmeline was certain was a very curly blonde wig. Dorcas’ expression twisted slightly, her impassive mask returning when the girl rounded on them, arms still around James’ neck, spinning like a marionette. “I run Queen of the Quills? The blog.” 

“Yes, we’re familiar,” Dorcas replied evenly, herself unwilling to engage with the gossip monger everyone who had ever met Rita Skeeter knew her to be. Emmeline stared, eyes glassy, half from the drugs and half in the hopes it would unnerve the blonde enough to drive her away. Rita only averted her eyes and attention back to James.

“In any case, don’t worry about apologizing,” she cooed. “I’m sure we can think of much more fun ways for you to make it up to me.”

.

“I’m very sorry, I’m terribly drunk, or I’d be more help,” Remus babbled for the third time as Lily cried on the loo, wads of toilet paper wedged under each eye to prevent unfortunate mascara running. Marlene stroked his knee, letting her chin rest on his shoulder from their perch on the edge of the clawfoot tub. “Also, why is their shower separate from their tub? That’s rather inconvenient.”

“It’s excessive,” Lily spluttered bitterly, though lack of venom betrayed her. “They’re excessive, and awful. Awful boys. Always have been.” The hiccup that shook her shoulders undermined her message. 

“I can’t believe you’ve slept with one, Marlene. I can’t- I can’t believe I’ve slept with one-” 

This prompted a fresh wave of tears. Wordlessly, Marlene pulled a flask from her purse, handing it to Lily. Remus watched, slightly shocked and very proud as the girl brought it to her lips with no hesitation, not even wincing as she took a drag from it. That, combined with the two wads of kleenex, became comical to the point of laughter. When the first chuckle escaped, Marlene and Lily both looked shocked. As he began giggling uncontrollably, Lily cracked.

“Do you think this is funny?” she demanded, fighting her own smile unsuccessfully, her own laughter triggering Marlene’s.

“It’s not- it’s not funny,” he gasped, sides hurting. “It’s just- the kleenex, and the flask, at the same time-“ his sentence spluttered into another fit of laughter. Lily, seeming to have recovered from her tears, had her phone out and trained on him, turning it so he could see the video she’d recorded for Snapchat, her laughter doubling as they replayed it before sending it to her story. After several more beats of laughter the three calmed, passing the flask around their triangle as Lily, occupied with her phone, waited out her hiccups.

“Right,” she said finally, standing very suddenly and facing herself in the mirror, one finger dabbing at her undereye makeup, “That’s done. Time to find my date.” Marlene smacked her shoulder, squealing.

“Please tell me you’re going to snog Fabian.” Lily pretended to retch, reapplying her lipstick. “Marlene, I am not going to be your pogo sister... I’m going to snog Gideon.” 

“For the record, I would like to say that James’ actions may not have been of his own accord and also that Sirius told him to snog a girl and everything happened very quickly,” Remus piped up, scrambling to find the right words. For a moment, Lily met his eyes, the expression in hers very unguarded before she seemed to steel herself, forcing out another laugh.

“Oh, I’m sure he really hated it and pushed her off right away, right? It’s exhausting, Remus, to have to deal with the constant attention when it’s all just for a laugh that stopped being funny when we were still in school I don’t enjoy being a punchline.” 

“Oh Lils,” Marlene sighed as a knock sounded at the door, which Lily opened to reveal a man Remus had-unsurprisingly-not met. “Whatever,” Lily snarled in answer. Marlene’s frown grew more pronounced.

Gideon was not quite what Remus had imagined- he was definitely attractive, but was very aggressively muscular and rather shorter than Remus had assumed Lily’s type to be. Marlene had a good inch or two on him in her heels, though she was rather tall. His hair was also shockingly ginger, with shockingly green eyes to match. He, in fact, looked like a male version on Lily. If Lily took steroids. 

“Alright?” he drawled by way of greeting. Remus did not like him, against his best efforts. Lily grabbed his hand silently, led him to the sofa and sat herself in his lap. It was all very theatrical, especially when Gideon’s hands took up residence on Lily’s bare thighs. This elicited several catcalls from the milling, drunken crowd of the living room, which only prompted Lily further- to swing one leg over so she was straddling the other redhead, her hands around his neck as their faces seemed to crash into each other. Marlene winced.

“I don’t like him,” Remus intoned at the same Marlene did. Marlene laughed, but there was little humour behind it.

“So that whole thing was Sirius’ doing?” she asked. Remus nodded, catching sight of James and Sirius pushing through the crowd, James halfheartedly playing host as he obviously searched for Lily. This time Remus managed to look away before he experienced any more secondhand heartbreak that night. Lily had ended up on her back on the couch, so that all he could see was Gideon’s head and one of her shoes, her leg apparently hooked around his waist. 

“He’s so not getting any from me tonight,” Marlene growled, taking another swig from the flask, her delicate upper lip curling as the movement from the couch became a little too vigorous. 

The general attention of the party seemed to wane from the couch where Lily and Gideon had taken up residence, and grew quiet in patches before Remus noticed the whispering. Marlene seemed at attention, looking genuinely surprised and concerned as a girl with a mess of dark curls and tan skin picked her way through the crowd, chin first, refusing to make eye contact. Emmeline appeared at her side, intertwining their fingers and pulling her in the direction of the kitchen. “Oh shit,” the blonde next to him breathed, stumbling towards the couch and pushing Gideon onto the floor.

“What the fuck?” 

Marlene silenced his protests with a single raised finger before pulling Lily up, practically dragging her over the back of the couch. “Mary’s here,” she hissed. Remus watched Lily’s entire demeanour transform, from the faux swagger of spiteful Lily to the mother hen he was used to, clucking quietly as she and Marlene rushed in the general direction he’d seen Emmeline guide the girl- Mary.

“Mary Macdonald.” Peter had sidled up next to him against the wall, a beer in each hand. He offered one to Remus, who gratefully accepted, realizing his source of alcohol had left in a flash of silver and orange.

“Right. Who’s Mary Macdonald again, then?” Peter smiled, though it was a little sad.

“She’s mates with your girls- the lot of them were floormates at our boarding school. A couple months ago Mary was at this party in Kensington that she should not have been at alone, some serious shit went down with one of the lads from Dark Mark- this absolutely trash emo band. Police didn’t do shit about it, then band started posting shit about it on social media... Was a pretty nasty mess. Didn’t expect her to show up somewhere so soon after, but shit. That’s Mary. Loves a good party.” He took a long drag from his can, and Remus regarded him rather warily, unsure of how to react to his telling of that particular story.

“Well, I mean, different people process trauma differently,” he replied uncomfortably. “Maybe she didn’t feel like becoming a shut in was a productive way to heal from… What happened.” Peter shrugged, non-plussed, taking another swallow from his can. 

“I should probably go check on James, just wanted to say cheers, mate. If you’re keen we’re probably on the balcony with some herb,” he added with a wink, giggling at his innuendo. Remus smiled automatically, watching the retreating man for a moment before heading in the direction of the kitchen.

It was becoming quite hazy in the apartment- the balcony doors were being closed less religiously, and the sweet marijuana smoke was a little cloying. Remus hadn’t sparked up since his first and only year at uni, and it was beginning to make him a little dizzy. As faces swam past on his way through the kitchen, he realized just how drunk he was. 

Suddenly, Marlene was in front of him, so close he thought their noses would touch. The disco music from earlier had been eschewed; instead the booming bass of a rap song was what drowned out her words. Screwing up his face in confusion, he tried to yell ‘what?’ over the music, but Marlene just grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd, elbow first into a bedroom he hadn’t been in yet.

For all the grandeur the common areas of the flat held, the bedroom was relatively small- or at least appeared to be. With the lights dimmed and so many posters and pictures pasted to the walls, it was difficult to tell just how big it was. One wall was exclusively shelving, housing an unorganized looking collection of records and books; another was dedicated to a slew of rugby jerseys and trophies. The bed was the largest thing in it, covered in red and gold blankets and… His friends.

“Talk her out of this, please,” Marlene demanded, arms crossed and expression dark. 

‘This’ appeared to be Lily getting a tattoo from the girl from earlier – Mary – who was currently occupied with Emmeline’s shoulder. Lily looked more pained than Emmeline, who was clutching her hand but wearing an expression more inquisitive than pained. Remus’ eyes landed on the gloved hand holding a very homemade looking tattoo needle and snapped back to Lily. “Lily, no.” He meant to say it with authority; instead, it came out as a whine.

“I’m getting a peach on my bum cheek,” she slurred in reply, her red solo cup sloshing precariously as she scooched closer to Emmeline, smacking the space she’d freed on the bed. Complying, Remus settled in next to her and she swiveled, her feet arcing to rest in Emmeline’s lap, her head on Remus’.

“So, I think I might have made a bad mistake.”

“I haven’t even gotten to you yet,” Mary pointed out patiently, focus unwavering from what Remus now recognised as the word KISS sprouting where Emmeline’s neck dipped into her collarbone.

“No. No the tattoo’s an amazing idea,” Lily murmured, staring blankly at the ceiling. Remus glanced up, noticing for the first time the sticky stars similar to the ones he remembered from Lily’s childhood bedroom. 

“I should not have texted Gideon. Let alone whatever-” she gesticulated a little too wildly for Remus’ comfort, who carefully pried her drink (which after a sniff test proved to be straight raspberry vodka) from her hands. “-that was out on the couch. Also probably not a good idea to take over Potter’s bedroom so soon after… Out on the couch.” 

Her eyes were watery again. This was the most he’d even seen Lily cry. There weren’t really any words Remus could think of to make her feel better; instead he stroked her hair comfortingly, humming as her eyelids began to flutter closed. Marlene sighed in relief. 

“At least she can’t get that bloody ass tattoo if she isn’t conscious,” she reasoned, plucking the cup from Remus’ hand and downing it in one go. Remus chuckled softly, groping around on the bed behind him to try and find a blanket in the semi-darkness. 

As if on cue, the door swung open, a patch of light widening as the three inhabitants of the flat stopped, their laughter and journey cut short by the presence of the five increasingly unwelcome guests.

“Oi, clear out, s’time to lock ourselves in here til everyone leaves,” Sirius slurred, stumbling towards the bed before steadying himself with Marlene’s thighs. The blonde looked wholly unimpressed. “’Cept for you, Blondie. Fancy a replay of last night?”

“You’re not worth the six minutes at the moment,” Marlene bit back, crossing her legs and dislodging his grip in the process. “You’ve been an absolute prat tonight and I am not happy. I had to interact with Gideon Prewett because you are a terrible dispenser of wisdom.” Sirius pouted, but look genuinely remorseful.

“S’not like I knew,” he grumbled, sliding to the floor. James had perched on his desk, pointedly staring at his ajar closet door with his arms crossed, the picture of petulance. Remus noticed he had become shirtless since the last night he’d seen him. 

“Sometimes my best mate lies to me about things,” he added in a stage whisper, directed at Remus. Peter made an uncomfortable sound in the back of his throat.

“Fuck off Padfoot,” James muttered, glancing over in his direction but ultimately being distracted by Lily’s sleeping form. His expression softened. Remus had to admit, she looked almost angelic, especially with the shimmery tracks her glitter eyeshadow and tears had left on cheeks. “Assumed she’d gone with Prewett when you lot went missing.”

“Yeah, well, she assumed you’d gone off with Rita Skeeter after that little show earlier,” Emmeline intoned spacily, clucking her tongue in discomfort as Mary began to finish up, shading in the end of the word ‘HERE’. “I expect we’ll all get to relive it tomorrow through every social media platform known to man.”

“She didn’t really want anything to do with him, mate,” Remus heard himself say. “Only texted him because she was drunk and you made her sad.”

James ran his hand through his hair, disgruntled, but merely twisted his face into a grimace for a moment in response. Remus was struck by how similar his and Lily’s responses to each other were.

“Anyway, where’s Meadowes?” Mary asked, pressing an alien sticker on the plaster she’d bandaged Emmeline’s shoulder with, to the dark haired girl’s delight. “Haven’t seen her yet tonight.”

“I expect she’s gone to help Professor Shacklebolt with the jam in his printer like she does most nights these days,” Marlene replied coyly, a spliff inexplicably perched between her lips. Remus was beginning to think she might have a slight problem. He watched as she turned to Emmeline expectantly, the latter already flicking open her lighter. When Marlene leaned over his lap to meet the flame he looked away, struck by how the moment passed, unseen by everyone else.

Perhaps they didn’t notice the weight it held the way he did.

“And the newlyweds?” Mary continued, tools being packed away in a folding case, shoved to the bottom of a large purse Remus hadn’t noticed. Lily stirred slightly, her back arching as she rolled onto her side. Remus’ hand unconsciously went to her hair, a habit from primary school that had always worked wonders to calm her down. 

He didn’t notice James’ stricken expression.

“Landing at Heathrow in about… Two hours,” Peter supplied, glancing down at his phone. “Frank has apparently got a spectacular sunburn.”

“I’m sure Alice only told him about a thousand times to put sunscreen on, the prat,” James chuckled affectionately. 

The room tensed when a crash sounded on the other side of the door, their reverie broken as they were reminded of the dozens of other bodies inhabiting the apartment. Everyone looked at one another expectantly; Remus clapped his hands.

“Right, I’m pretty sure this one has a shift this afternoon, so we’d best get back to ours,” he announced, Marlene nodding in response. Gently, trying his best to keep from jostling her too much, Remus attempted to stand with Lily in his arms, bridal style. Despite his efforts, she stirred, barely cognizant of what was going except that he was attempting to help her.

“Oh, I’m fine love,” Lily mumbled vaguely, patting Remus on the shoulder, her dangling feet kicking in an attempt to reach the floor. “I’m not getting carried out of here with an audience.”

“Lily, you can barely stay awake, let alone walk,” he shot back, though still carefully lowered her to her feet. She immediately bounced onto the bed, groaning as she reached down to claw at her shoes. Marlene shook her head, catching Lily’s attention.

“I told you they were too much,” she mumbled to the blonde, who barely concealed her snicker.

“Just get on Remus’ back, Lils. Compromise. You’re never going to get those things off this drunk.”

“You can go out the fire escape since you’re always so concerned about an audience,” James piped up, already unlocking the window. He and Lily shared an inscrutable look that lasted a beat too long before the redhead broke it, slightly sobered. Or at least pretending to be 

“Perfect. Thank you. Tell Rita I said hello,” she intoned coolly, grabbing Remus’ arm. The entire mood had dropped to an awkward degree, and he was almost grateful as she practically pulled him out the window, Marlene trailing them, hissing at Lily to slow down. 

James, agitated, sticking his head out the window after them. “Well, you say hi to Gideon for me!”

“He’s in your living room, do it yourself!” 

He opened his mouth to hurl back a biting, mind blanking, and barely managed to choke out a loud “Fine!”

“FINE!” Lily shouted back, hair whipping angrily as she shot him a poisonous look over her shoulder. Despite their shared fury, James noticed the catch in her voice and how shiny her eyes appeared I the low light. Before he could soften, her platforms were beating out an angry staccato retreat as she took the metal stairs two at a time.

“Right, you’ve had you word, now stop before you fall down and break your neck,” Remus intoned gently, squeezing Lily’s hand when they were far enough down the fire escape to safely avoid any prying eyes or ears. Tiredly, she obliged, letting Remus squeeze a few steps ahead of her before hopping onto his back. 

Marlene watched the entire exchange, impressed. Even after almost a decade of living with Lily in some capacity, she couldn’t get the other girl to accept help without a fight or some sort of trickery. Mentally, she filed the information for later, deciding a one on one chat with Remus was in her future. 

Remus, to his merit, barely swayed under Lily’s weight, both hands on the railings as they reached the bottom of the fire escape and he scaled the ladder with little difficulty. His passenger had been silent, and he guessed contrite after the spat with James.

“So, are we going to talk about whatever that was back there?” Marlene demanded from above, not letting on if she was struggling with the ladder in her own heels. 

“No,” Lily uttered, sounding like a vengeful toddler. A beat of silence. “Maybe.”

“That whole fire escape bit seemed a little… Pointed.” Remus ignored the viselike strength her grip around his neck took on after his comment. “So you might as well tell us what it was all about or we’ll just assume something terrible and scandalous--”

“--It’s how he gets out of ours, isn’t it?” Marlene interrupted, her tone almost excited. “That’s why we’ve never caught him. You make him scale the bloody fire escape!”

Lily groaned in reply. 

“Christ Lils, talk about being the butt of a joke.”

“It’s very different!” Lily seemed to have sobered nearly completely at this point, the cool night air and biting conversation reviving her. As if to prove this point, she slid from Remus’ back, hitting the pavement surprisingly gracefully. “Him constantly asking me out as a laugh for his mates and whoever else was nearby for years and me making him leave my room via fire escape are very different! And in any case, he’s not once actually asked me on a date with any modicum of seriousness—so he gets snuck out like a hookup, because that’s what he is.”

They walked in silence through the alley, Remus and Marlene both feeling slightly chastised by Lily’s words, neither willing to try and argue with her when she was very obviously trying to keep herself from crying for the third time that night, a new record for the redhead. When she reached the mouth of the alley, she stiffened but pressed on, and James Potter, still shirtless, came into view for the slower pair.

“—And anyway, it’s not like I was trying to get with Rita, it’s hardly my fault someone wanted to snog me, you sought Gideon Prat-wett out--” 

“Don’t call him that! You’ve no right to call anyone a prat, Potter, you insufferable wanker—‘oh, I’m James Potter, women can’t even control themselves around me, it’s hardly my fault I’m’—”

“—that is NOT how I meant it, and you know—“

“—’just LOOK at my biceps, they can’t be HIDDEN away from the opposite sex, what an unimaginable’—“

Remus glanced over to Marlene, who seemed completely unfazed by the exchange as they walked silently behind the squabbling pair, lacing her arm through Remus’ and resting her head on upper arm.

“Why do you even care?” His attention was once again forward, something in the tone of Lily’s voice almost daring. “Why do you care if I snog Gideon?”

“Why do you care if I snog Rita??” James’ response came out a little higher pitched than normal. 

“I asked you first.” 

Startled, Remus realized they’d reached the tube station, with barely ten minutes to spare before the last train. When he nudged Lily, James glanced at him, seeming dazed, as though he hadn’t noticed Remus or Marlene trailing five feet behind him. 

“Well… I asked you too. And the snogging happened to me first, so.” 

Lily stared James down, brow knit, until the buzzing of his cell phone broke the silence. For a second, Remus wondered if they’d continue staring as his phone rang, but the other boy cursed and reached for his pocket, ending the uncomfortable moment as quickly as it had begun. Lily shook her head resignedly.

“Bye, James.”

With that she turned on her heel, disappearing down the steps.

**Author's Note:**

> just so you know, reviews and kudos validate me and indebt me to you forever. i will befriend you in a hot second. you can also hit me up on tumblr; http://evahns.tumblr.com/


End file.
